What We Missed – Bucks Season Ends With A Spirited Comeback

I’m back from vacation. If I had know that I would have WiFi in my room, I would have brought the blog to paradise. Anyways, I’m back and realize I have to teach the boys how to work this machine. Bucks season ended on Thursday night with a 92-89 defeat to Toronto Raptors. T Dot went three straight over Milwaukee including two wins on the road. This was a tough one for me as I spent the night refreshing the phone and pissing off my girlfriend at the same time even though she tried like hell to find a bar on the resort to watch the game. Incredible comeback by the team. Here are some random thoughts on the game itself as I watched it late Saturday night.

-Giannis saved his best for last: Goddamn, I love Giannis. He played his fucking ass off in Game 6. Big moments can sometimes scare young superstars and that wasn’t the case for Antetokounmpo. He battled to the bitter end with Bucks amid being exhausted throughout the fourth quarter. He’s the man, and the hype around him next year will be sky high.

– Comeback for the ages: Game 6 will still go down in Milwaukee lore. Bucks were dead. They were down 25 points midway through the third quarter, and Raptors fell apart leading to a huge Bucks comeback with a wild Bradley Center crowd. Gus Johnson built for something like this drawing excitement on every Bucks possession. Jason Terry’s three gave me chills even days later. Giannis ran out of gas leading to some missed free throws along with a few others on the team with weary moments late. Bucks did their best to claw back into this one, and it left fans leaving on a somewhat happy note.

– Dwane Casey coached Jason Kidd into a pretzel. I don’t know what J-Kidd’s future is with the team. We all wanted him fired at the middle of the year then Bucks came back and found themselves at the six seed in a dogfight with Toronto for six games. But Kidd got absolutely outcoached by Casey throughout the series. There were so many situations where Kidd couldn’t figure out the right pieces to keep up with Toronto. So then the question is it Kidd or the players?

– Thon Maker will be a thing before we know it: The amount of buzz that will swirl around Thon Maker next year will be papable. It will go along with all of the noise Bucks are going to have before the season starts especially if they do the right things in the offseason. Maker showed some flashes, and the expectation is he will show more next season. Maker and Giannis are developing a special relationship.

– What if Khris Middleton was healthy – Not sure when it was announced that Khris Middleton felt ill and could reportedly ‘barely talk’ after Game 6. From what we could draw on, he felt sick around Game 5 and definitely Game 6. The fact he played less than 80 percent for the two biggest games of the season and Bucks nearly came back to force a Game 7 is fantastic.

– Tony Snell is worth the money: I think you have to pay Tony Snell the money. I’m not sure what the number is going to be, but he’s worth it. Snell needs to be a Buck. He fits this team so well. Snell is the glue of this team. I don’t know if his full potential has been reached yet either. He’s a valuable asset to this team.

– John Henson put a bow on his Bucks career: They always say ‘You have to be ready when it’s your time.’ Norm Powell took that to heart and became a difference maker for Toronto. John Henson had a chance to be great and fell on his face. Kidd went against putting Thon Maker back in, instead going with Henson who was terrible. He brought nothing to table. In a lot of ways, Bucks bench was not deep enough to compete in the playoffs.

– Another big year for John Hammond: Johnny Hams will have another big summer. Giannis-Middleton-Parker-Thon is the core four right now. I don’t imagine things changing from that perspective unless Bucks can move in the top five or something to get a highly-touted prospect in a one of the best NBA Draft’s in some time. Bucks bench will need some retooling with a blend of veterans and up-and-comers. It would be great if Milwaukee could steal a Tony Snell-type every offseason.